Health Services and Social Services: Disease Control

(asked on 27th April 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of guidance from Public Health England which outlines that chest compressions and defibrillation are not considered aerosol generating procedures and the guidance from the Resuscitation Council UK to the contrary on the ability of care provider executives to safeguard staff; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Jo Churchill Portrait
Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 4th May 2020

The United Kingdom’s Personal Protective Equipment guidance continues to recommend the highest level of protection for health and social care teams treating COVID-19 patients. It is crucial that everyone that needs it has access to the right protective equipment.

The Department’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) has recently reviewed the evidence and has maintained this position, stating that they do “not consider that the evidence supports chest compressions or defibrillation being procedures that are associated with a significantly increased risk of transmission of acute respiratory infections.”. Further information is available at the following link:

https://app.box.com/s/3lkcbxepqixkg4mv640dpvvg978ixjtf/file/657486851975

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